Don't be worn down by a ministry that banks on our grit while turning a blind eye to the burnout ruining good people.
Let me start by saying that I pray you don’t need what you’re about to read, but I know that church production people might be the one of the most abused team members in the Church, and it’s easy for that abuse to fly under the radar because of our general ability to embrace the “suck” of long hours and demanding leaders. We make it happen, but I’ve seen a number of good people on production teams get burnt out, leave the church, and even abandon their faith.
I don’t want that to happen to you, so here’s some red flags to look for so that you know when to get yourself out of a bad situation.
Red Flag Number One: Your Boss Is a Workaholic and Expects the Same of Their Team
Running a church isn’t easy; I’ve seen that firsthand. I’ve also watched more than two handfuls of lead pastors, executive pastors, and worship pastors sacrifice everything good in their lives on the altar of ministry. Unfortunately, those kind of leaders usually expect everyone else on their team to make the same sacrifice, and they demand it long before their own personal lives are consumed in those flames.
Do not tolerate it. I’m serious—do not let more than a day or two pass after the event that started a fight with your wife or caused you to miss your kid’s ballgame without having a serious sitdown with your senior leadership and saying, “That simply won’t work for me.
You will know very quickly whether or not you’re in a healthy environment. Good leaders will figure out how to fix the situation; bad leaders will tell you to suck it up. If you get the latter treatment, hop on LinkedIn and start making phone calls.
Red Flag Number Two: Open Rebuke, Criticism, or Correction.
When I say “open,” I mean in front of people—your team, the congregation, a leadership team meeting, etcetera. We all need rebuke, criticism, and correction from time to time, but it’s only appropriate in private and in love. Public rebuke only brings shame and dishonor.
Once again, do not tolerate it. Let little time pass before you confront your leader about their behavior and explain that it cannot happen again. Their response will be telling.
Red Flag Number Three: It’s All About Growth
This red flag is endemic in churches across the US, where butts in seats are more important that the gospel. The motivation is often shrouded in holy speech about getting people in front of the gospel, but it should never be an end unto itself. Church is a gathering of believers and seekers, and leadership that’s too focused on attendance will start compromising quickly to keep those numbers up.
Healthy churches will grow without much extra effort; not all, but most. This red flag doesn’t require an immediate remedy from you, but keep an eye on it. Once the compromises start happening, it might be a good time to start looking for a new job.
This is all about boundaries.
You need to protect your personal health with kindness and love. While there are always busy seasons and times when ministry is particularly demanding, run to wisdom when those seasons start to become the norm. Have loving, gentle conversations with your leadership about your health and communicate what you can and cannot do.
I know that can be scary, but future you will be grateful, and sometimes, you might be the word a leader needs to hear to correct their own boundaries and save their personal lives before it’s too late.
Grace and peace to you if you are in a difficult situation. I pray that you find a healthy remedy that doesn’t require leaving your church family, but if that does happen, know that the Lord is kind and he is with you.
